14 replies to this topic

[TURBO-CC]

just bought a VXT and was pointed in the direction of this forum to find out if anyone has had there Turbo tuned by Regal Southampton. If anyone has can you post the performance gains

[TJR]

The only person I believe is the boss of Picador Vauxhall in Southampton, Graham Jacobs aka Murkin on this web site. I've got his old NA demonstrator on which he put a VX sports exhaust,a K&N induction kit and a Regal remap. When I colected my car from him about 6 weeks ago, he said he was getting around 275 bhp from his VXT, but there is a rumour that the engine let go a few weeks ago ,although nobody has heard from him recently...

Edited by TJR, 27 June 2003 - 11:09 AM.

[TURBO-CC]

Thanks for the info....which Picador was it?.... I have just bought mine from Sholing

[garyk220]

I'm holding off tuning mine for the moment, to see what Vauxhall/Lotus have done with the Turbo Sprint engine. The power output is likely to be lower, perhaps 230-240PS, but the torque gains in the mid-range should be fairly high... perhaps 250-260lbft?? Vauxhall will have considered long-term reliability and heat transfer issues too, so the conversion should be more reliable. Courtenay Sport also have a very good reputation for tuning Vauxhall turbos. The standard turbo engine generates a lot of heat when driven hard, so I'll be very reluctant to up the mid-range boost by much until I've sorted the engine bay temp first. Water injection still looks like a good option for the VXT. Looks like there are several options for tuning the VXT, which can only be a good thing for us owners

[TURBO-CC]

thanks for the info garyk220 can you give me a link to the sprint engine that vauxhall are planing

[Thorney]

I should be the position to announce the AMD conversion we're working on too. Current plan is a Miltek system, filter of some kind (not decided which one yet) an AMD re-map, charge cooler and larger oil cooler. This should all be done in 3 weeks. One area I've been keen to attack is the provision of torque not BHP as Vauxhall themselves have had problems with bigger BHP outputs and besides its torque which wins races not bhp I don't think the Regal/Picador one's engine let go more like the turbo blew I think.

[TURBO-CC]

what sort of gains could we expect from the AMD conversion and rough guide to cost's would be nice. just keen to get my hands on more power

[Thorney]

what sort of gains could we expect from the AMD conversion and rough guide to cost's would be nice.

just keen to get my hands on more power

Should know more next week, I think their plan is to offer a drive in/drive out deal.

[Chuck]

No, we need more BHP. Torque is only good with load, once off load power is required. Diesels have great torque but doesn't make them quick. With a light car like the VX I'm looking for more BHP.

[Thorney]

No, we need more BHP. Torque is only good with load, once off load power is required. Diesels have great torque but doesn't make them quick.

With a light car like the VX I'm looking for more BHP.

To a point yes....but bhp without torque is daft (and visa versa).

[minime]

right to quash the rumours about murkins engine.....when he first took delivery of his demonstrator he was runine existing it in when some metal object managed to get into his turbo unit.....blew the bloddy thing up! so he decided to let chris at regal have a go with upping the power....so the existing turbo got replaced with a k4 from audi...plus a few other bits too......the new turbo unit is running at around 20psi at max power so along with this and his new super cat 3" exhaust system ( again from regal ) is managing to put down some serious power.......i am hoping to persuade graham aka murkin to bring his car to the amd rolling road day!

[Dave]

Had a drive in Graham's Tubo this morning....................WOW..... there's so much to say about the car but words don't describe its current performance. The sound of the turbo! You've got to hear it.... You've got to drive it! I thought the Palmersports Turbo's were fast but Graham's is "2fast & 2furious". I want one. He knows his stuff..... and I'm sure if you want any advice about NA/Turbo he will help. Dave

[Chuck]

So where has he been? and he's got to go to AMD !!!

[garyk220]

.....when he first took delivery of his demonstrator he was runine existing it in when some metal object managed to get into his turbo unit.....blew the bloddy thing up!

That sounds a bit worrying for us turbo owners Could you ask him to post exactly what happened, where the object came from? just in case it's a problem with the turbo installation.

cheers

[garyk220]

I should be the position to announce the AMD conversion we're working on too. Current plan is a Miltek system, filter of some kind (not decided which one yet) an AMD re-map, charge cooler and larger oil cooler.

That sounds like a pretty good set-up Thorney. Keep me posted on the charge cooler and oil cooler options. I'm keen to sort out the engine bay temperatures, along with brake and suspension upgrades, before going for big power/torque gains. The car already makes some interesting clicking and gurgling noises when it's cooling down after a quick blast round the track